In person, Assisted by Mrs S Zerar, Friend For the v Respondent — 2021

Mr Barwick started with Falmouth University on 12 February 2016 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer and Course Co-ordinator on 22 August 2016. The tribunal found that a series of conflicts developed between him and colleagues on the BA Illustration Course, and that by the time of the later disciplinary and redeployment processes there had been an irretrievable breakdown in working relationships. The claimant accepted that he could not return to the team and sought redeployment, which the respondent pursued with Occupational Health input and through its redeployment procedures.

At the outset of the hearing, the claimant withdrew his automatic unfair dismissal claim based on health and safety reasons. The tribunal then considered the remaining unfair dismissal claim. It found that the reason for dismissal was some other substantial reason, namely the irretrievable and irreconcilable breakdown in relations between the claimant and colleagues on the course, and not the misconduct allegations that had been considered separately in the disciplinary process. The tribunal noted that Mr Cox upheld only two misconduct allegations at first instance, but those matters were dealt with separately and did not form the basis of the dismissal decision.

Applying section 98(4) ERA 1996 and the band of reasonable responses test, the tribunal held that the respondent acted reasonably. It accepted that Mr Cox considered possible alternatives, including mediation, changing work patterns, and redeployment, before deciding dismissal was necessary. The tribunal found that mediation was unlikely to work, that a return to the course with altered duties was not practical in a small team, and that genuine efforts to secure suitable alternative employment continued for six months without success. The unfair dismissal claim was therefore dismissed.